Snowflake Fields

For the levels that stand out among the rest.
Nightmayor
Monty Mole
Monty Mole
Posts: 149
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2015 5:03 am

Snowflake Fields

Postby Nightmayor » Mon Feb 15, 2016 11:36 pm

This is one level from my project that I slightly modified. It's not too long and its a standard SMB1 snow level.
I hope you all enjoy.

Le download link
http://www.mediafire.com/download/t4i87 ... Fields.zip

Le screenshot
Spoiler: show
Image

as303298
Volcano Lotus
Volcano Lotus
Posts: 549
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2014 7:37 pm

Re: Snowflake Fields

Postby as303298 » Tue Feb 16, 2016 10:37 pm

My Review:

Atmosphere [5/5]
This was certainly a snowflake field. While partially flat it still kept itself from being too linear, aside just running right. A simplistic SMB 1 level with snow and ice physics executed nicely. No further comments necessary.

Level Design [4/5]
The usage of bullet bills to keep the player on their toes and then switching to a nice lakitu in the later half of the level kept the level very simple but somehow didn't actually get repetitive in its design, aside the hammer brothers' placement. Further comments on NPC usage will be in "NPC Placement."

However, I must dock off points due to the fact the level is still linear in the concept of simply holding right and jumping every few seconds. I highly recommend having side-paths and underground segments. Hell, even add a random vine heading to the sky for a nice coin bonus stage. Nothing too crazy, but a little side tracking can be good for such a simple level such as this.

Graphical Continuity [5/5]
No comment. The level was a SMB1 level and kept true to its design style acting like the original SMB and didn't use NPCs or graphical style that conflicted with the level itself. I would say the yoshi coins does seem a little out of place, but I am not a graphical designer nor judge in this field so I have nothing to say about this graphic.

Now, note that this isn't being considered in your points, but I did not like the way this level ended. The fact that everything was SMB1 I really disliked the fact it ended in a typical SMB3 roulette

BGO Placement [5/5]
No comment. The level used hills, grass, trees, you name it. I loved the fact that the level didn't just stick to one type of BGO, as this level went from using a lot of bushes to using fences for a good chunk of the level. Very good use of the BGOs you had at your disposal mate, well done.

NPC Placement [4/5]
Your level focused a LOT on bullet bills, which can be avoided very easily. I experienced absolutely no issues avoiding any enemies, which I didn't much care for. Even your hammer brothers were never a problem, and incredibly repetitive and predictable. While you did well to make a fun level, I would say this fell short in terms of challenging the player. Especially since the level was ice based I expected some sort of challenge.

Difficulty / Replayability [5/5]
I would sure as hell play this level again. While I dislike the fact that this level is super easy, it was super fun. I have nothing else to say other than try to experiment into making your levels a lot less linear in terms of what direction you need the player to go. Try having cave systems or go into new sections requiring you to go left for once.

Overall Score: 28/30
Final Score: 9.3/10
Judgement: The Best
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAEiQ9g-8B8

Nightmayor
Monty Mole
Monty Mole
Posts: 149
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2015 5:03 am

Re: Snowflake Fields

Postby Nightmayor » Wed Feb 17, 2016 12:17 am

as303298 wrote:My Review:

Atmosphere [5/5]
This was certainly a snowflake field. While partially flat it still kept itself from being too linear, aside just running right. A simplistic SMB 1 level with snow and ice physics executed nicely. No further comments necessary.

Level Design [4/5]
The usage of bullet bills to keep the player on their toes and then switching to a nice lakitu in the later half of the level kept the level very simple but somehow didn't actually get repetitive in its design, aside the hammer brothers' placement. Further comments on NPC usage will be in "NPC Placement."

However, I must dock off points due to the fact the level is still linear in the concept of simply holding right and jumping every few seconds. I highly recommend having side-paths and underground segments. Hell, even add a random vine heading to the sky for a nice coin bonus stage. Nothing too crazy, but a little side tracking can be good for such a simple level such as this.

Graphical Continuity [5/5]
No comment. The level was a SMB1 level and kept true to its design style acting like the original SMB and didn't use NPCs or graphical style that conflicted with the level itself. I would say the yoshi coins does seem a little out of place, but I am not a graphical designer nor judge in this field so I have nothing to say about this graphic.

Now, note that this isn't being considered in your points, but I did not like the way this level ended. The fact that everything was SMB1 I really disliked the fact it ended in a typical SMB3 roulette

BGO Placement [5/5]
No comment. The level used hills, grass, trees, you name it. I loved the fact that the level didn't just stick to one type of BGO, as this level went from using a lot of bushes to using fences for a good chunk of the level. Very good use of the BGOs you had at your disposal mate, well done.

NPC Placement [4/5]
Your level focused a LOT on bullet bills, which can be avoided very easily. I experienced absolutely no issues avoiding any enemies, which I didn't much care for. Even your hammer brothers were never a problem, and incredibly repetitive and predictable. While you did well to make a fun level, I would say this fell short in terms of challenging the player. Especially since the level was ice based I expected some sort of challenge.

Difficulty / Replayability [5/5]
I would sure as hell play this level again. While I dislike the fact that this level is super easy, it was super fun. I have nothing else to say other than try to experiment into making your levels a lot less linear in terms of what direction you need the player to go. Try having cave systems or go into new sections requiring you to go left for once.

Overall Score: 28/30
Final Score: 9.3/10
Judgement: The Best
Video: [Held for video]
Thanks for the feedback! In the future I will try to add more side routes and bonus areas where appropriate.
I'll also try to increase the difficulty for my future stages as well.

Dracyoshi
Swooper
Swooper
Posts: 50
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2015 5:04 pm

Re: Snowflake Fields

Postby Dracyoshi » Thu Feb 18, 2016 3:39 am

If you're reading this review for the first time and haven't played the level, go play it(or not), because you'll want to look at the screenshot of the entire level or play it to know what I'm talking about. I'm going to try not to repeat anything already mentioned in the official review unless necessary.
This is also going to be a lot more opinionated than the official review. Be warned.

Here is a full screenshot of the entire level for future reference: Click

First, the level suffered pretty heavily from the lack of secrets. Although this was already mentioned in the review and acknowledged, it's worth mentioning as this leads into my next minor criticism: Coin and dragon coin placement.
Although you managed to perfectly nail the amount of coins, I got to say that there isn't any challenge at all in collecting them. A majority of the coins will just be collected by accident.

As you can see in the level screenshot, every coin in the level can be obtained by a simple jump. Although this isn't an issue for a player who just wants to complete the level, more explorative players(like me) are left disappointed as coins(especially dragon coins) are usually used as rewards for going out of the way to search for secrets or for just doing something that the average player wouldn't. So when you're making your next level, move those dragon coins to somewhere where they won't be obtained by just jumping like this guy:
[rimg]https://i.imgur.com/2c6ckDL.pngg[/rimg]
Don't go too far, though. Coins serve as a great way to give the player a break in a level filled with challenges.
An example of where you could've placed a dragon coin would be right up here: (Click)
My next criticism is about the visuals. The level looks pretty much the same all the way through. This may have been an issue in SMB1, but SMBX isn't nearly as restricted. The three landforms in the level are all basic hills with some sizable peaks in-between. It's excusable if you're trying to go for the authentic SMAS feel, but it did look pretty bland. Unless you're making a vanilla or chocolate level I recommend working on making the terrain feel more interesting and giving the level it's own unique charm.

Next, I'd like to point out that some challenges in the level are reused a bit too much and areas that suffer from some minor design flaws. For example,
[rimg]http://i.imgur.com/QUjlcnB.png[/rimg]
Both the hammer bros and trio of bill blasters in that screenshot are seen earlier in the level. And they're even easier this time.
Instead of reusing content seen earlier in the level, you should've came up with something new yet easy as this is directly after the checkpoint.
[rimg]http://i.imgur.com/mgxOdp5.png[/rimg]
In that screenshot, I initially thought that the upper path would be optional because of the dragon coin placement. But no, the lower platform is just the location a hidden 1-up. It's a missed opportunity for a short split in the level, although the upper route would've needed to be somewhat more difficult to compensate.
I'll finish this short "review" with three short and minor comments:
The grass BGO is too white, and could definitely use some increased contrast.
The slopes look very choppy. I thought that you were using Sednaiur's expansion pack, it doesn't appear to have this issue.
And the music was way louder than it needed to be. Compare the volume of vanilla SMBX tracks and the custom music used in the level to hear what I mean.
Everything else was already mentioned in the official review.(E.G. The dragon coins)

It's a pretty good level, but multiple aspects of the level felt lacking. My personal rating would be a 7/10, but this isn't really a review.

Nightmayor
Monty Mole
Monty Mole
Posts: 149
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2015 5:03 am

Re: Snowflake Fields

Postby Nightmayor » Sat Feb 27, 2016 6:03 pm

Dracyoshi wrote:If you're reading this review for the first time and haven't played the level, go play it(or not), because you'll want to look at the screenshot of the entire level or play it to know what I'm talking about. I'm going to try not to repeat anything already mentioned in the official review unless necessary.
This is also going to be a lot more opinionated than the official review. Be warned.

Here is a full screenshot of the entire level for future reference: Click

First, the level suffered pretty heavily from the lack of secrets. Although this was already mentioned in the review and acknowledged, it's worth mentioning as this leads into my next minor criticism: Coin and dragon coin placement.
Although you managed to perfectly nail the amount of coins, I got to say that there isn't any challenge at all in collecting them. A majority of the coins will just be collected by accident.

As you can see in the level screenshot, every coin in the level can be obtained by a simple jump. Although this isn't an issue for a player who just wants to complete the level, more explorative players(like me) are left disappointed as coins(especially dragon coins) are usually used as rewards for going out of the way to search for secrets or for just doing something that the average player wouldn't. So when you're making your next level, move those dragon coins to somewhere where they won't be obtained by just jumping like this guy:
[rimg]https://i.imgur.com/2c6ckDL.pngg[/rimg]
Don't go too far, though. Coins serve as a great way to give the player a break in a level filled with challenges.
An example of where you could've placed a dragon coin would be right up here: (Click)
My next criticism is about the visuals. The level looks pretty much the same all the way through. This may have been an issue in SMB1, but SMBX isn't nearly as restricted. The three landforms in the level are all basic hills with some sizable peaks in-between. It's excusable if you're trying to go for the authentic SMAS feel, but it did look pretty bland. Unless you're making a vanilla or chocolate level I recommend working on making the terrain feel more interesting and giving the level it's own unique charm.

Next, I'd like to point out that some challenges in the level are reused a bit too much and areas that suffer from some minor design flaws. For example,
[rimg]http://i.imgur.com/QUjlcnB.png[/rimg]
Both the hammer bros and trio of bill blasters in that screenshot are seen earlier in the level. And they're even easier this time.
Instead of reusing content seen earlier in the level, you should've came up with something new yet easy as this is directly after the checkpoint.
[rimg]http://i.imgur.com/mgxOdp5.png[/rimg]
In that screenshot, I initially thought that the upper path would be optional because of the dragon coin placement. But no, the lower platform is just the location a hidden 1-up. It's a missed opportunity for a short split in the level, although the upper route would've needed to be somewhat more difficult to compensate.
I'll finish this short "review" with three short and minor comments:
The grass BGO is too white, and could definitely use some increased contrast.
The slopes look very choppy. I thought that you were using Sednaiur's expansion pack, it doesn't appear to have this issue.
And the music was way louder than it needed to be. Compare the volume of vanilla SMBX tracks and the custom music used in the level to hear what I mean.
Everything else was already mentioned in the official review.(E.G. The dragon coins)

It's a pretty good level, but multiple aspects of the level felt lacking. My personal rating would be a 7/10, but this isn't really a review.
Thank you for your criticism and I'll be sure to fix the issues that this level had for the next level that I'm currently working on.

bossedit8
Banned
Posts: 6838
Joined: Fri Dec 20, 2013 12:35 pm
Contact:

Re: Snowflake Fields

Postby bossedit8 » Mon May 16, 2016 8:15 pm

Playthrough made:



Original link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_amks7pihw


Return to “The Best”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests

SMWCentralTalkhausMario Fan Games GalaxyKafukaMarioWikiSMBXEquipoEstelari